With little public fanfare, 23 of the 32 Broadway shows have brought their curtain times forward on Tuesdays from 8 to 7 p.m. – and Midtown’s restaurants are up in arms.

“Nobody has time to eat before and few will stop to eat after,” said Laura Maioglio, the owner of Barbetta on West 46th Street.

“They’ll go home. We pointed out the disadvantages, but our complaints went unheeded.”

The time change is an attempt to bring more people to the theater in the doldrums of a cold and economically challenged winter, said Jed Bernstein, president of the League of American Theaters and Producers.

The change began this week – and with such little advance notice that tickets still said 8 p.m.

It was not immediately clear whether ticket holders who showed up late through no fault of their own were offered refunds. Or whether theaters will try to notify people who bought advance tickets to future performances printed with the 8 p.m. starting time.

In any case, restaurants that cater to theatergoers say the early shows, which will continue until March, will hurt their business badly – especially small, family-run restaurants.

“Everybody is against this except maybe Beefsteak Charlie and the Olive Garden,” said Paul Denamiel, the owner of West 46th Street’s Le Rivage. “It’s just another stepping stone to get the little people out.”

Denamiel said the change will only benefit fast-food restaurants.

“This is mostly the doing of Disney,” which produces kid-friendly shows such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “Lion King,” he complained. “But kids are in school on weeknights. I mean, I love Mickey, but come on.”

Denamiel said he had about 35 customers between 6 and 8 p.m. instead of his usual 110 and that he’ll now have to open on Mondays to make it up.

But Bernstein called the time change an “interesting experiment.”

At various times in the past, he said, Broadway shows started as late as 8:40 p.m. and as early as 7:30 p.m.

“In the winter, people are on a different biorhythm,” he said. “During the slowest part of the year, we’re trying to get people home earlier.”

Craig Agans, who manages Becco at 355 W. 46th St., said the early shows work for him because he can fit in an extra sitting.